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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The 2014-15 Campionato Vaticano got under way on 13/10/14 with a match between Associazione SS Pietro e Paolo and reigning champions San Pietro, which San Pietro won in resounding fashion, running out 6:1 winners.

Next up were Fortitudo/Pantheon - a merger of two of the teams which took part in last year's league and cup tournaments - against Dirtel, and the latter took the spoils with a 3:1 victory. Guardia, who finished bottom last season, and last year's runners-up Santos came up against each other in the Tuesday night match, and Santos won this one by the odd goal in five.Seven teams are taking part in this season's championship, with Musei Vaticani being the only side that weren't in action in the first round of fixtures. A total of fourteen rounds of regular league football will be played, with the now-familiar two-leg semi-finals to follow on 16/3/15 and 23/3/15, and the championship final bringing an end to the league season. The final is scheduled to take place, as will all matches during the season, at the Associazione Sportivo La Salle complex in Rome on 30/3/15.

All results from the league competition shall be published throughout the season on the Pat's Football Blog page on Facebook as and when they are made available. For now, though, please find below the fixture-list for the 2014-15 Vatican City league championship.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Nuuk side B-67 won the 2014 Greenlandic national championship at the final tournament played in their home town between 4-9/8/14, which was hosted by fellow Nuuk side NÛK, by defeating FC Malamuk 1:0 in the final on 9/8/14. In direct contrast to last year's tournament, all of the drama took place on the pitch,and B-67 were once again the dominant team throughout, though they almost came a cropper against Illulissat side Nagdlúnguak 48 in their final group game, drawing 1:1; that, though was as close as they came to suffering defeat during the entire championship season.

Perhaps
the biggest surprise was the performance of the third side representing
the capital in this year's competition, debutants IT-79, who finished
third and picked up a couple of notable scalps along the way. They defeated Nagdlúnguak 48 3:2 in a game which many expected would be a walkover for the men from Ililissat, and, although defeated 1:0 in the semi-final stage by FC Malamuk, put up a good show, and proceeded to spring the biggest surprise in the whole tournament by defeating G-44 in the third-place match.

As ever, G-44 were among the pre-tournament favourites, but were defeated in the other semi-final by B-67, in a game which many would have thought worthy of the final itself.

Before the third-place play-off and the final took place, the minor placings were decided, and Eqaluk 54 defeated Nagtoralik by 3 goals to 2 in the wooden-spoon decider. Tasiusaq-based Eqaluk 54 had shipped 15 goals in their three group games, finishing pointless, though they were placed in what was arguably the more difficult group of the two.

Nagtoralik, who hail from Paamiut, only qualified because TM-62, from the eastern town of Kulusuk, who qualified for the final stages by winning their regional championship, were unable to take part due to financial considerations. Nagtoralik finished bottom of their group with one point, which came courtesy of a draw with NÛK.NÛK were up against Nagdlúnguak 48 in the fifth-place play-off, and, particularly for the latter, the competition was something of a disappointment. Disqualified from last year's competition for fielding an ineligible player during the regional round, Nagdlúnguak had something of a point to prove. However, the wheels came off the bus during their first game against IT-79 when they lost 3:3, though they recovered their poise to beat Eqaluk 54 5:0. They needed to defeat B-67 by something like 7:0 to stand any chance of reaching the final, but could only manage a 1:1 draw.

NÛK had performed with credit in Group 2, drawing their first two games, but lost their final game 2:0 against eventual group winners FC Malamuk. Most of the matches in Group 2 were fairly close affairs, with few goals being scored. NÛK scored only twice in their three matches, and this run continued against their visitors, with Nagdlúnguak running out 1:0 winners.

Surprise team IT-79 had to face Qeqertarsuaq's finest, G-44, in the third-place play-off, which was, in G-44's case at least, something of a disappointment in itself. G-44, you may remember, were runners-up in last year's competition and were favourites to finish first in Group 2. They finished unbeaten in the group, but were undone by drawing their first two matches, and finished two points adrift of FC Malamuk despite defeating them 2:0 in the final group match.

IT-79 both surprised and impressed during their maiden appearance at the national championship stage; the club, which was only founded in 1979 by a group of students who had returned to Nuuk after studying in Denmark, only began entering the regional stages a few years ago. and since then normally finished third or fourth in the regional competition. NÛK's designation as hosts opened the door somewhat for IT-79 to qualify for the national championships, and they did so by winning two of their three qualifying matches. IT-79 lost 6:0 to B-67 during the qualifying tournament, and lost 3:0 against them in their Group 1 game. They had shocked Naglúnguak 48 in their first group match, and defeated Equaluk 54 4:1 to qualify for the semi-finals, where they lost 1:0 to FC Malamuk.

G-44, who had lost 2:1 to B-67 in their semi-final, were strong favourites to take third place; however, the underdogs from the capital had other ideas, and, despite being under the cosh for most of the game, did not wilt under the pressure and came away with a 2:1 win. IT-79 more than deserved their place in the sun, and team manager Allan Geisler admitted that he was proud of his team for their efforts, singling out midfielder Kaassannguaq Zeeb for special praise. The final between B-67 and FC Malamuk was perhaps not one which everyone had expected, but the end result was. B-67 dominated the final against a plucky FC Malamuk, and deserved their 1:0 win. It was B-67's tenth national title, equalling Nagdlúnguak 48's record, and both teams' performance in reaching the final was rewarded with both teams having three representatives in the tournament's Best XI. An extra source of consolation for FC Malamuk came in the shape of defender Niels Svane being voted Player of the Tournament. For B-67, it was a case of their cementing their place at the top of the pile in Greenland and, unlike last year, with the minimum of fuss and controversy.GROUP 1:Eqaluk 54 (Tasiusaq); B-67 (Nuuk); Nagdlúnguak 48 (Ilulissat); IT-79 (Nuuk)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AUTHOR'S NOTE: Much of the above information was gleaned from KNR and Sermitsiaq; thanks, too, to Allan Geisler, IT-79's team manager. A couple of the results were taken from the RSSSF website. For those wishing to watch the games on the KNR archive, it would appear, sadly, that the links have been removed from their website.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Greenland's national championship finals took place in Nuuk from 4-9/8/14, and marked the 80th anniversary of the foundation of one of the nation's oldest clubs, NÛK; as NÛK were designated as the host club for this year's competition, they were exempt from competing in the regional qualification rounds, which were held during July in various locations across the country.There were one or two surprises during the qualification rounds, and a little bit of history was made by a hitherto unheralded team.NORTHERN ZONE (AVANNAA): Ummannaq was the host village for this year's qualification round in the northern reaches of the giant island, with UB-68 and FC Malamuk keeping the local flag flying against Eqaluk 56 from Ikerasak, and Upernavik sides UB-83 and Kingmek 45. FC Malamuk qualified for the national finals, although the results sequence is, despite attempts to recover the missing scores, incomplete.UB-83 1:3 UB-68FC Malamuk 2:1 Eqaluk 56Kingmek 45 5:2 UB-83FC Malamuk 4:1 UB-68Kingmek 45 : FC MalamukUB-68 : Eqaluk 56UB-83 : FC MalamukEqaluk 56 : Kingmek 45UB-68 1:8 Kingmek 45Eqaluk 56 : UB-83

DISKO BAY ZONE (DISKOBUGT): A little further to the south in Qeqertarsuaq, but still north of the Arctic Circle, another qualification group was already under way with one of the participating teams feeling that they had a point to prove.

Illulisat side Nagdlúngduak 48 were disqualified from last year's championship for fielding an ineligible player, but were more than ready to redeem themselves against local rivals I-69, T-41 from Aasiaat, Kugsak 45 from Qasigiannguit and host club - and national champions - G-44.

They started off as they meant to go on, simply demolishing T-41 10:0 before going on to thrash I-69 9:0 in the local derby. I-69, who qualified for last year's tournament courtesy of Nagdlúngduak 48's slip-up only to finish bottom of their group, had a simply disastrous regoinal tournament this time around, drawing against T-41 and losing heavily in the other three matches. I-69 finished bottom behind T-41 on goal difference, with T-41 making a good fist of it in their other two fixtures.

Perhaps fittingly enough, the final fixture in the regional competition saw a 0:0 draw between G-44 and Nagdlúngduak 48, with the latter finishing top on goal difference, and both teams qualifying with room to spare. Kugsak 45, however, gave the eventual group winners an almighty scare in their group game, with Nagdlúngduak 48 squeaking through by the odd goal in five.16/07/14 Nagdlúngduak 10:0 T-4116/07/14 I-69 0:7 G-4417/07/14 Kugsak 45 2:1 T-4117/07/14 Nagdlúngduak 9:0 I-6918/07/14 G-44 4:1 Kugsak 4518/07/14 T-41 1:1 I-69 19/07/14 Nagdlúngduak 3:2 Kugsak 4519/07/14 T-41 0:2 G-4420/07/14 I-69 0:5 Kugsak 4520/07/14 G-44 0:0 Nagdlúngduak CENTRAL ZONE (QEQQA): In Manitsoq, last year's champions B-67 were up against fellow Nuuk side IT-79, S-68 from Sisimiut and host club Kâgssagssuk. SAK, another team from Sisimiut, and GSS from Nuuk were originally included in the draw but apparently scratched from the tournament just before it commenced.

B-67 went through comfortably, winning all three matches, but the real drama was reserved for the final match between Kâgssagssuk and IT-79. A draw would have seen Kâgssagssuk qualify for the national championship play-offs behind B-67, but a late goal saw IT-79 go through instead, qualifying for the final stages for the first time in the club's history; a fitting way to celebrate the club's 25th anniversary and ensure a place in the sun for the capital's Cinderella club.

Pity poor S-68; they were game, but were also simply outclassed in their three matches, and were annihilated 13:0 in their final match against B-67. It was the heaviest defeat suffered by any side during the regional stages, and it was also a warning shot across the bows for any team contemplating wresting the national title from B-67's grasp.23/07/14 IT-79 7:1 S-6823/07/14 Kâgssagssuk 2:3 B-6724/07/14 IT-79 0:6 B-6724/07/14 Kâgssagssuk 6:0 S-6825/07/14 S-68 0:13 B-6725/07/14 Kâgssagssuk 0:1 IT-79SOUTHERN ZONE (KUJATAA): K-1933, hailing from Qaqortoq, were hosting the 2014 preliminary round in southern Greenland, and were up against N-85 from Narsaq, Nagtoralik 45 (Paamiut) and Eqaluk 54 from the town of Tasiusaq.

It was a closely-fought tournament, with Eqaluk 54 eventually qualifying ahead of Nagtoralik due to goals scored; however, Nagtoralik claimed that they were the victims of some biased officating during the game against Eqaluk 54. They had scored a goal which the referee had originally given, but the linesman had flagged for offside, and, after a consultation between both officials,the goal was ruled out. Two Nagtoralik players were also sent off during the match.

According to a report carried in the Sermitsiaq newspaper, referee Isak Fredriksen received threats from an unknown member of staff from the losing team, who had allegedly advised the referee to leave Qaqortoq or face being beaten up. Nagtoralik appealed the result, but this was dismissed by the GBU's tournament committee. They decided to issue a protest via the GBU's board of directors (as provided for under Paragraph 10, Section 5 of the GBU Rules and Regulations), but this was also dismissed. 20/07/14 N-85 1:1 Nagtoralik 45 20/07/14 K-1933 2:2 Eqaluk 5421/07/14 N-85 2:6 K-193321/07/14 Nagtoralik 45 1:2 Eqaluk '5422/07/14 Nagtoralik 45 2:1 K-193322/07/14 N-85 2:2 Eqaluk '54

EAST GREENLAND (TUNU): Three teams took part in qualification early in July (dates unknown): ATA from Tasiilaq, TM-62 from Kulusuk and K-64 from Kuummiut. K-64 qualified for last year's national championship, but fared badly both on and off the pitch. This time around, they finished bottom of the three-team qualifying group, which saw TM-62 scrape through in what was a fiercely-fought group, with very little in it between the three teams.

It should be noted that TM-62 were forced to withdraw from the final tournament due to financial constraints a few days before it commenced;their place was eventually taken by Nagtoralik, runners-up in the Southern section.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AUTHOR'S NOTE: The results were obtained via the Sermitsiaq and KNR websites, and also via social media. A request has been forwarded to the GBU to provide the remaining results; the above article shall be updated, and shall include group tables, as and when said results are forwarded.

About Me

I am an Irishman in exile; a dedicated follower of football (above all, of Liverpool and Newry City), a fan of the round ball but not neccessarily all that goes with it.
My intention was just to use this blog for writing practice, and write about those people and places on the football (soccer) front that seem to go unnoticed. If, by some chance (or misfortune), you find something written here worth using/writing about, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE AND SEND COPY. Ideas, compliments, complaints and contributions are more than welcome. In any case, hope you enjoy it.
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